An opportunity to increase animal protection and public accountability

As the UK Government considers how it will bring the new EU Directive,
2010/63/EU, into UK law, MPs and animal protection and non-animal research
groups have expressed concern about the lowering of UK science and animal
welfare standards.

The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) and Lord Dowding
Fund for Humane Research (LDF) briefed MPs on the key concerns over
the potential effects of the new Directive on UK animal research and
advanced replacements:

-- No current laboratory animal protection in the UK should be
downgraded

-- Greater transparency, public accountability, and mechanisms to
challenge animal research in favour of replacement techniques

-- No reduction in current requirements for the justification of
proposed animal experiments

-- Establish mechanisms for the implementation of advanced,
non-animal methods

-- 'Thematic' review of areas of animal experimentation to set
targets for replacement

-- Restrictions on the use of monkeys in research and ending the
wild capture of monkeys.

In a parliamentary debate yesterday David Amess MP stated that
both he and his parliamentary colleagues were concerned about this
Directive as the UK prides itself on the way that it treats animals
and the UK therefore needs to be convinced that all countries in the
EU will have the same high standards.

The Minister Lynne Featherstone responded by stating that the
Directive strengthens the protection of animals used in scientific
procedures and harmonises the regulation across the Member states
while maintaining the UK's high standards. The Minister's statement
follows comments previously made by Lord Henley Minister of State at
the Home Office, who in October in response to a question in the
House of Lords said: "I can give an absolute and categorical
assurance that we will not be dropping our standards in any way
whatever."

However, despite these assurances to Parliament, the NAVS is
concerned that existing UK laboratory animal protection may be
stripped away, including the emphasis on replacement methods, when
the Government transposes this new Directive.

A recent Government consultation included the option of using the
transposition of the new Directive to downgrade current UK
standards. This could mean reducing husbandry standards and
deregulation of animal experiments. Less justification for animal
use would be required. Vested interests from the animal
experimentation industry are lobbying hard for relaxation of UK
rules.

Jan Creamer, Chief Executive of the NAVS said: "This could be the
first British Government in history to actually make it easier to
experiment on animals. The new Directive should be an opportunity to
increase animal protection and public accountability, not take us
back over 100 years.

"We will continue to lobby the Government to seek the best
possible protection for animals, the best mechanisms to bring in the
new alternative methods available now, and resist de-regulation of
current UK controls."

Animal experiments in the UK are currently governed by the Animals
(Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 but this will be replaced when
Directive 2010/63/EU is transposed into British law -- new draft
legislation is expected next year. The current Act is generally
regarded to have failed to live up to its promise to protect animals
in laboratories -- but even the paper thin protection within this may
now be removed.

Jan concluded: "The proposals contained within our briefing are
reasonable, are clearly in line with public concerns and represent
the intention for the new Directive when it was passed by the
European Parliament. It is time for the Government to make good its
claim that it intends to reduce animal experiments."